Human adenylate kinase 6 regulates WNK1 (with no lysine kinase-1) phosphorylation states and affects ion homeostasis in NT2 cells.

Adenylate kinase 6 (AK6), a nucleus localized phosphotransferase in mammalians, shows ubiquitously expression and broad substrate activity in different tissues and cell types. Although the function of AK6 has been extensively studied in different cancer cell lines, its role in mammalian germline is still unknown. Here we showed that knockdown of AK6 inhibits cell proliferation and promotes cell apoptosis in human testicular carcinoma (NT2 cells). Co-immunoprecipitation experiment and in vitro pull down assay identified WNK1 (with no lysine kinase-1) as one of the AK6 interacting proteins in NT2 cells. Moreover, we found that AK6 regulates the phosphorylation states of WNK1 (Thr60) and affects phosphorylation level of Akt (Ser473) upon hypotonic condition, probably affecting chloride channel and regulating ion transport and homeostasis in NT2 cells and consequently contributing to the decreased cell proliferation rate. In conclusion, AK6 regulates WNK1 phosphorylation states and affects ion homeostasis in NT2 cells. These findings provide new insights into the function of AK6 and WNK1 in human testicular carcinoma. This work also provides foundation for further mechanism study of AK6 in spermatogenesis.

The Sperm Proteome of the Oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis.

Sperm proteins play vital roles in fertilization, but little is known about their identities in free-spawning marine invertebrates. Here, 286 sperm proteins are reported from the Hong Kong oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis using label-free and semi-quantitative proteomics. Proteins extracted from three sperm samples are separated by SDS-PAGE, analyzed by LC-MS/MS, and identified using Mascot. Functional classification of the sperm proteome reveals energy metabolism (33%), signaling and binding (23%), and protein synthesis and degradation (12%) as the top functional categories. Comparison of orthologous sperm proteins between C. hongkongensis, Crassostrea gigas, Mytilus edulis, and M. galloprovincialis suggests that energy metabolism (48%) is the most conserved functional group. Sequence alignment of the C. hongkongensis bindin, an acrosomal protein that binds the sperm and the egg, with those of three other Crassostrea species, reveals several conserved motifs. The study has enriched the data of invertebrate sperm proteins and may contribute to studies of mechanisms of fertilization in free-spawning invertebrates. The proteomic data are available in ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD018255.

Signatures of Divergence, Invasiveness, and Terrestrialization Revealed by Four Apple Snail Genomes.

The family Ampullariidae includes both aquatic and amphibious apple snails. They are an emerging model for evolutionary studies due to the high diversity, ancient history, and wide geographical distribution. Insight into drivers of ampullariid evolution is hampered, however, by the lack of genomic resources. Here, we report the genomes of four ampullariids spanning the Old World (Lanistes nyassanus) and New World (Pomacea canaliculata, P. maculata, and Marisa cornuarietis) clades. The ampullariid genomes have conserved ancient bilaterial karyotype features and a novel Hox gene cluster rearrangement, making them valuable in comparative genomic studies. They have expanded gene families related to environmental sensing and cellulose digestion, which may have facilitated some ampullarids to become notorious invasive pests. In the amphibious Pomacea, novel acquisition of an egg neurotoxin and a protein for making the calcareous eggshell may have been key adaptations enabling their transition from underwater to terrestrial egg deposition.

Egg perivitelline fluid proteome of a freshwater snail: Insight into the transition from aquatic to terrestrial egg deposition.

RATIONALE: Proteins from the egg perivitelline fluid (PVF) are assumed to play critical roles in embryonic development, but for many groups of animals their identities remain unknown. Identifying egg PVF proteins is a critical step towards understanding their functions including their roles in evolutionary transition in habitats. METHODS: We applied proteomic and transcriptomic analysis to investigate the PVF proteome of the eggs of Pomacea diffusa, an aerial ovipositing freshwater snail in the family Ampullariidae. The PVF proteins were separated with the sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) method, and proteomic analysis was conducted using an LTQ Velos ion trap mass spectrometer coupled with liquid chromatography. Comparison of PVF proteomes and evolution analyses was performed between P. diffusa and other ampullariids. RESULTS: In total, 32 egg PVF proteins were identified from P. diffusa. They were categorized as PV1-like subunits, immune-responsive proteins, protein degradation, signaling and binding, transcription and translation, metabolism, oxidation-reduction and proteins with unknown function. Interestingly, the proteome includes a calcium-binding protein important in forming the hard eggshell that enabled the terrestrial transition. However, it does not include PV2, a neurotoxic protein that was assumed to be present in all Pomacea species. CONCLUSIONS: The PVF proteome data from P. diffusa can help us better understand the roles that reproductive proteins played during the transition from underwater to terrestrial egg deposition. Moreover, they could be useful in comparative studies of the terrestrialization in several groups of animals that occurred independently during their evolution.

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis to Understand the Mechanisms of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Toxicity to Daphnia pulex (Crustacea: Daphniidae): Comparing with Bulk Zinc Oxide and Zinc Salt.

The widespread use of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) has resulted in their release to the environment. There has been concern about the ecotoxicity of ZnO NPs, but little is known about their toxic mechanisms. In the present study, we conducted acute toxicity tests to show that ZnO NPs are more toxic to the freshwater crustacean Daphnia pulex compared to bulk ZnO or ZnSO4·7H2O. To provide an integrated and quantitative insights into the toxicity of ZnO NPs, we conducted isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) proteomic analysis, which detected 262, 331, and 360 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in D. pulex exposed to ZnO NPs, bulk ZnO, and ZnSO4·7H2O, respectively. Among the DEPs, 224 were shared among the three treatments. These proteins were related to energy metabolism, oxidative stress, and endoplasmic reticulum stress. The three forms of Zn all caused D. pulex to downregulate Chitinase expression, disrupt Ca2+ homeostasis, and reduce expression of digestive enzymes. Nevertheless, 29 proteins were expressed only in the ZnO NP treatment. In particular, histone (H3) and ribosomal proteins (L13) were obviously influenced under ZnO NP treatment. However, increased expression levels of h3 and l13 genes were not induced only in ZnO NP treatment, they were sensitive to Zn ions under the same exposure concentration. These results indicate that the three zinc substances have a similar mode of action and that released zinc ions are the main contributor to ZnO NP toxicity to D. pulex under a low concentration. Further investigation is needed to clarify whether a small proportion of DEPs or higher bioavailability cause ZnO NPs to be more toxic compared to bulk ZnO or ionic zinc.

The Sperm Proteome of the Echiuran Urechis unicinctus (Annelida, Echiura).

Sperm proteins presumably play critical roles in reproduction, but in many non-model animals their identities are unknown. A total of 147 sperm proteins from the echiuran worm Urechis unicinctus, the first sperm proteome in the phylum Annelida, are reported. The echiuran sperm proteome can be classified into diverse functional groups: energy metabolism (31%), protein synthesis and degradation (18%), spermatogenesis and sperm motility (12%), signal pathway (11%), ion channel and transport proteins (6%), cytoskeleton (4%), immunity and stress responses (3%), and fertilization (1%). These results will facilitate studies of mechanisms of fertilization in echiurans, as well as comparative studies of reproduction and evolution across lophotrochozoans. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD009176.

AmpuBase: a transcriptome database for eight species of apple snails (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae).

BACKGROUND: Gastropoda, with approximately 80,000 living species, is the largest class of Mollusca. Among gastropods, apple snails (family Ampullariidae) are globally distributed in tropical and subtropical freshwater ecosystems and many species are ecologically and economically important. Ampullariids exhibit various morphological and physiological adaptations to their respective habitats, which make them ideal candidates for studying adaptation, population divergence, speciation, and larger-scale patterns of diversity, including the biogeography of native and invasive populations. The limited availability of genomic data, however, hinders in-depth ecological and evolutionary studies of these non-model organisms. RESULTS: Using Illumina Hiseq platforms, we sequenced 1220 million reads for seven species of apple snails. Together with the previously published RNA-Seq data of two apple snails, we conducted de novo transcriptome assembly of eight species that belong to five genera of Ampullariidae, two of which represent Old World lineages and the other three New World lineages. There were 20,730 to 35,828 unigenes with predicted open reading frames for the eight species, with N50 (shortest sequence length at 50% of the unigenes) ranging from 1320 to 1803 bp. 69.7% to 80.2% of these unigenes were functionally annotated by searching against NCBI's non-redundant, Gene Ontology database and the Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes. With these data we developed AmpuBase, a relational database that features online BLAST functionality for DNA/protein sequences, keyword searching for unigenes/functional terms, and download functions for sequences and whole transcriptomes. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, we have generated comprehensive transcriptome data for multiple ampullariid genera and species, and created a publicly accessible database with a user-friendly interface to facilitate future basic and applied studies on ampullariids, and comparative molecular studies with other invertebrates.

Sperm proteome of Mytilus galloprovincialis: Insights into the evolution of fertilization proteins in marine mussels.

Cataloging the sperm proteome of an animal can improve our understanding of its sperm-egg interaction and speciation, but such data are available for only a few free-spawning invertebrates. This study aimed to identify the sperm proteome of Mytilus galloprovincialis, a free-spawning marine mussel. We integrated public transcriptome datasets by de novo assembly, and applied SDS-PAGE coupled LC-MS/MS analysis to profile the sperm proteome, resulting in the identification of 550 proteins. Comparing the homologous sperm protein coding genes between M. galloprovincialis and its closely related species M. edulis revealed that fertilization proteins have the highest mean nonsynonymous substitution rate (Ka/Ks = 0.62) among 11 functional groups, consistent with previous reports of positive selection of several fertilization proteins in Mytilus. Moreover, 78 sperm proteins in different functional groups have Ka/Ks values > 0.5, indicating the presence of many candidate sperm proteins for further analysis of rapid interspecific divergence. The MS data are available in ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD001665.

Genetic Basis of Differential Heat Resistance between Two Species of Congeneric Freshwater Snails: Insights from Quantitative Proteomics and Base Substitution Rate Analysis.

We compared the heat tolerance, proteomic responses to heat stress, and adaptive sequence divergence in the invasive snail Pomacea canaliculata and its noninvasive congener Pomacea diffusa. The LT50 of P. canaliculata was significantly higher than that of P. diffusa. More than 3350 proteins were identified from the hepatopancreas of the snails exposed to acute and chronic thermal stress using iTRAQ-coupled mass spectrometry. Acute exposure (3 h exposure at 37 °C with 25 °C as control) resulted in similar numbers (27 in P. canaliculata and 23 in P. diffusa) of differentially expressed proteins in the two species. Chronic exposure (3 weeks of exposure at 35 °C with 25 °C as control) caused differential expression of more proteins (58 in P. canaliculata and 118 in P. diffusa), with many of them related to restoration of damaged molecules, ubiquitinating dysfunctional molecules, and utilization of energy reserves in both species; but only in P. diffusa was there a shift from carbohydrate to lipid catabolism. Analysis of orthologous genes encoding the differentially expressed proteins revealed two genes having clear evidence of positive selection (Ka/Ks > 1) and seven candidates for more detailed analysis of positive selection (Ka/Ks between 0.5 and 1). These nine genes are related to energy metabolism, cellular oxidative homeostasis, signaling, and binding processes. Overall, the proteomic and base substitution rate analyses indicate genetic basis of differential resistance to heat stress between the two species, and such differences could affect their further range expansion in a warming climate.

Proteomic basis of stress responses in the gills of the pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas.

The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas is one of the dominant sessile inhabitants of the estuarine intertidal zone, which is a physically harsh environment due to the presence of a number of stressors. Oysters have adapted to highly dynamic and stressful environments, but the molecular mechanisms underlying such stress adaptation are largely unknown. In the present study, we examined the proteomic responses in the gills of C. gigas exposed to three stressors (high temperature, low salinity, and aerial exposure) they often encounter in the field. We quantitatively compared the gill proteome profiles using iTRAQ-coupled 2-D LC-MS/MS. There were 3165 identified proteins among which 2379 proteins could be quantified. Heat shock, hyposalinity, and aerial exposure resulted in 50, 15, and 33 differentially expressed gill proteins, respectively. Venn diagram analysis revealed substantial different responses to the three stressors. Only xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase showed a similar expression pattern across the three stress treatments, suggesting that reduction of ROS accumulation may be a conserved response to these stressors. Heat shock caused significant overexpression of molecular chaperones and production of S-adenosyl-l-methionine, indicating their crucial protective roles against protein denature. In addition, heat shock also activated immune responses, Ca(2+) binding protein expression. By contrast, hyposalinity and aerial exposure resulted in the up-regulation of 3-demethylubiquinone-9 3-methyltransferase, indicating that increase in ubiquinone synthesis may contribute to withstanding both the osmotic and desiccation stress. Strikingly, the majority of desiccation-responsive proteins, including those involved in metabolism, ion transportation, immune responses, DNA duplication, and protein synthesis, were down-regulated, indicating conservation of energy as an important strategy to cope with desiccation stress. There was a high consistency between the expression levels determined by iTRAQ and Western blotting, highlighting the high reproducibility of our proteomic approach and its great value in revealing molecular mechanisms of stress responses.

NEATmap: a high-efficiency deep learning approach for whole mouse brain neuronal activity trace mapping.

Quantitative analysis of activated neurons in mouse brains by a specific stimulation is usually a primary step to locate the responsive neurons throughout the brain. However, it is challenging to comprehensively and consistently analyze the neuronal activity trace in whole brains of a large cohort of mice from many terabytes of volumetric imaging data. Here, we introduce NEATmap, a deep learning-based high-efficiency, high-precision and user-friendly software for whole-brain neuronal activity trace mapping by automated segmentation and quantitative analysis of immunofluorescence labeled c-Fos+ neurons. We applied NEATmap to study the brain-wide differentiated neuronal activation in response to physical and psychological stressors in cohorts of mice.

Understanding the regulation of estivation in a freshwater snail through iTRAQ-based comparative proteomics.

The apple snail Pomacea canaliculata is a freshwater gastropod with a remarkable ability to withstand seasonal or unpredictable dry conditions by entering estivation. Studies of P. canaliculata using conventional biochemical and the individual gene approaches have revealed the expressional changes of several enzymes and antioxidative genes in response to estivation and arousal. In this study, we applied iTRAQ-coupled two-dimensional LC-MS/MS to identify and quantify the global protein expression during the estivation and arousal of P. canaliculata. A total of 1040 proteins were identified, among which 701 proteins were quantified and compared across four treatments (i.e., control, active snails; short-term estivation, 3 days of exposure to air; prolonged estivation, 30 days of exposure to air; and arousal, 6 h after resubmergence in water) revealing 53 differentially expressed proteins. A comparison of protein expression profiles across treatments indicated that the proteome of this species was very insensitive to initial estivation, with only 9 proteins differentially expressed as compared with the control. Among the 9 proteins, the up-regulations of two immune related proteins indicated the initial immune response to the detection of stress cues. Prolonged estivation resulted in many more differentially expressed proteins (47 compared with short-term estivation treatment), among which 16 were down-regulated and 31 were up-regulated. These differentially expressed proteins have provided the first global picture of a shift in energy usage from glucose to lipid, prevention of protein degradation and elevation of oxidative defense, and production of purine for uric acid production to remove toxic ammonia during prolonged estivation in a freshwater snail. From prolonged estivation to arousal, only 6 proteins changed their expression level, indicating that access to water and food alone is not a necessary condition to reactivate whole-sale protein expression. A comparison with hibernation and diapause revealed many similar molecular mechanisms of hypometabolic regulation across the animal kingdom.

Functional Network of the Long Non-coding RNA Growth Arrest-Specific Transcript 5 and Its Interacting Proteins in Senescence.

Increasing studies show that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play essential roles in various fundamental biological processes. Long non-coding RNA growth arrest-specific transcript 5 (GAS5) showed differential expressions between young and old mouse brains in our previous RNA-Seq data, suggesting its potential role in senescence and brain aging. Examination using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed that GAS5 had a significantly higher expression level in the old mouse brain hippocampus region than the young one. Cellular fractionation using hippocampus-derived HT22 cell line confirmed its nucleoplasm and cytoplasm subcellular localization. Overexpression or knockdown of GAS5 in HT22 cell line revealed that GAS5 inhibits cell cycle progression and promotes cell apoptosis. RNA-Seq analysis of GAS5-knockdown HT22 cells identified differentially expressed genes related to cell proliferation (e.g., DNA replication and nucleosome assembly biological processes). RNA pull-down assay using mouse brain hippocampus tissues showed that potential GAS5 interacting proteins could be enriched into several Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, and some of them are involved in senescence-associated diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. These results contribute to understand better the underlying functional network of GAS5 and its interacting proteins in senescence at brain tissue and brain-derived cell line levels. Our study may also provide a reference for developing diagnostic and clinic biomarkers of GAS5 in senescence and brain aging.

The genome of Nautilus pompilius illuminates eye evolution and biomineralization.

Nautilus is the sole surviving externally shelled cephalopod from the Palaeozoic. It is unique within cephalopod genealogy and critical to understanding the evolutionary novelties of cephalopods. Here, we present a complete Nautilus pompilius genome as a fundamental genomic reference on cephalopod innovations, such as the pinhole eye and biomineralization. Nautilus shows a compact, minimalist genome with few encoding genes and slow evolutionary rates in both non-coding and coding regions among known cephalopods. Importantly, multiple genomic innovations including gene losses, independent contraction and expansion of specific gene families and their associated regulatory networks likely moulded the evolution of the nautilus pinhole eye. The conserved molluscan biomineralization toolkit and lineage-specific repetitive low-complexity domains are essential to the construction of the nautilus shell. The nautilus genome constitutes a valuable resource for reconstructing the evolutionary scenarios and genomic innovations that shape the extant cephalopods.

Hemocyte phagosomal proteome is dynamically shaped by cytoskeleton remodeling and interorganellar communication with endoplasmic reticulum during phagocytosis in a marine invertebrate, Crassostrea gigas.

Phagosomes are task-force organelles of innate immune systems, and evolutionary diversity and continuity abound in the protein machinery executing this coordinately regulated process. In order to clarify molecular mechanisms underlying phagocytosis, we studied phagocyte response to beads and Vibrio species, using hemocytes of the Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) as a marine invertebrate model. Phagosomes from different stages of phagocytosis were isolated by density-gradient centrifugation, and more than 400 phagosome-associated proteins were subsequently identified via high-throughput quantitative proteomics. In modeling key networks of phagosomal proteins, our results support the essential roles of several processes driving phagosome formation and maturation, including cytoskeleton remodeling and signal transduction by Rab proteins. Several endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated proteins were identified, while live cell imaging confirms an apparent intimate interaction between the ER and phagosomes. In further quantitative proteomic analysis, the signal transducers CgRhoGDI and CgPI4K were implicated. Through experimental validation, CgRhoGDI was shown to negatively regulate actin cytoskeleton remodeling in the formation of oyster phagosomes, while CgPI4K signaling drives phagosome maturation and bacterial killing. Our current work illustrates the diversity and dynamic interplay of phagosomal proteins, providing a framework for better understanding host-microbe interactions during phagosome activities in under-examined invertebrate species.

Understanding the transition from water to land: Insights from multi-omic analyses of the perivitelline fluid of apple snail eggs.

Unlike most of the freshwater gastropod families, the family Ampullariidae includes members that exhibit both underwater and aerial oviposition, making it an ideal model for understanding mechanisms underlying the evolutionary transition from water to land. We applied SDS-PAGE and LC-MS/MS to analyse the proteome of the egg perivitelline fluid (PVF) of Marisa cornuarietis - an aquatic ovipositing ampullariid. Comparison with the reported PVF proteomes of two aerial ovipositing ampullariids (Pomacea canaliculata and P. maculata) showed that the three species all contain several major perivitellins that nourish the embryos. However, M. cornuarietis invests more heavily on immune-related proteins, which might be due to exposure to aquatic pathogens. Interestingly, only the PVF of out-of-water egg laying species have PV2 - a neurotoxin lethal to mice, and a calcium-binding protein which might be involved in the formation of calcareous eggshell. Integrated phylogenetic, evolutionary and gene expressional analyses detected the involvement of gene duplication, positive selection and neofunctionalisation in the formation of several major PVF proteins. Overall, our study provides multiple lines of evidence of adaptive evolution in the PVF proteins, and contributes to a better understanding of how aquatic gastropod ancestors invaded terrestrial habitats. SIGNIFICANCE: Aerial egg deposition has evolved in several groups of animals, but except for Vertebrata little is known about the mechanisms underlying this critical evolution process. We compared aquatic and aerial egg laying apple snails to understand the molecular mechanisms enabling such a transition in egg laying habitat. We found that the composition of perivitelline fluid proteomes of underwater and aerial egg depositors was remarkably different, and then gene duplication and positive selection were responsible for the formation of such novel proteins than enabled the evolutionary transition.

A lectin of a non-invasive apple snail as an egg defense against predation alters the rat gut morphophysiology.

The eggs of the freshwater Pomacea apple snails develop above the water level, exposed to varied physical and biological stressors. Their high hatching success seems to be linked to their proteins or perivitellins, which surround the developing embryo providing nutrients, sunscreens and varied defenses. The defensive mechanism has been unveiled in P. canaliculata and P. maculata eggs, where their major perivitellins are pigmented, non-digestible and provide a warning coloration while another perivitellin acts as a toxin. In P. scalaris, a species sympatric to the former, the defense strategy seems different, since no toxin was found and the major perivitellin, PsSC, while also colored and non-digestible, is a carbohydrate-binding protein. In this study we examine the structure and function of PsSC by sequencing its subunits, characterizing its carbohydrate binding profile and evaluating its effect on gut cells. Whereas cDNA sequencing and database search showed no lectin domain, glycan array carbohydrate binding profile revealed a strong specificity for glycosphingolipids and ABO group antigens. Moreover, PsSC agglutinated bacteria in a dose-dependent manner. Inspired on the defensive properties of seed lectins we evaluated the effects of PsSC on intestinal cells both in vitro (Caco-2 and IEC-6 cells) and in the gastrointestinal tract of rats. PsSC binds to Caco-2 cell membranes without reducing its viability, while a PsSC-containing diet temporarily induces large epithelium alterations and an increased absorptive surface. Based on these results, we propose that PsSC is involved in embryo defenses by altering the gut morphophysiology of potential predators, a convergent role to plant defensive lectins.

Comparative proteomics and codon substitution analysis reveal mechanisms of differential resistance to hypoxia in congeneric snails.

Although high-throughput proteomics has been widely applied to study mechanisms of environmental adaptation, the conclusions from studies that are based on one species can be confounded by phylogeny. We compare the freshwater snail Pomacea canaliculata (a notorious invasive species) and its congener Pomacea diffusa (a non-invasive species) to understand the molecular mechanisms of their differential resistance to hypoxia. A 72-h acute exposure experiment showed that P. canaliculata is more tolerant to hypoxia than P. diffusa. The two species were then exposed to three levels of dissolved oxygen (6.7, 2.0 and 1.0mgL-1) for 8h, and their gill proteins were analyzed using iTRAQ-coupled LC-MS/MS. The two species showed striking differences in protein expression profiles, with the more hypoxia tolerant P. canaliculata having more up-regulated proteins in signal transduction and down-regulated proteins in glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Evolutionary analysis revealed five orthologous genes encoding differentially expressed proteins having clear signal of positive selection, indicating selection has acted on some of the hypoxia responsive genes. Our case study has highlighted the potential of integrated proteomics and comparative evolutionary analysis for understanding the genetic basis of adaptation to global environmental change in non-model species. SIGNIFICANCE: Rapid globalization in recent decades has greatly facilitated species introduction around the world. Successfully established introduced species, so-called invasive species, have threatened the invaded ecosystems. There has been substantial interest in studying how invasive species respond to extreme environmental conditions because the results can help not only predict their range of expansion and manage their impact, but also may reveal the adaptive mechanisms underlying their invasiveness. Our study has adopted a comparative approach to study the differential physiological and proteomic responses of two congeneric snails to various hypoxic conditions, as well as codon substitution analysis at transcriptomic level to detect signals of positive selection in hypoxia-responsive genes. The integrated physiological, proteomic and transcriptomic approach can be applied in other non-model species to understand the molecular mechanisms of adaptation to global environmental change.

An integrated proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of perivitelline fluid proteins in a freshwater gastropod laying aerial eggs.

Proteins of the egg perivitelline fluid (PVF) that surrounds the embryo are critical for embryonic development in many animals, but little is known about their identities. Using an integrated proteomic and transcriptomic approach, we identified 64 proteins from the PVF of Pomacea maculata, a freshwater snail adopting aerial oviposition. Proteins were classified into eight functional groups: major multifunctional perivitellin subunits, immune response, energy metabolism, protein degradation, oxidation-reduction, signaling and binding, transcription and translation, and others. Comparison of gene expression levels between tissues showed that 22 PVF genes were exclusively expressed in albumen gland, the female organ that secretes PVF. Base substitution analysis of PVF and housekeeping genes between P. maculata and its closely related species Pomacea canaliculata showed that the reproductive proteins had a higher mean evolutionary rate. Predicted 3D structures of selected PVF proteins showed that some nonsynonymous substitutions are located at or near the binding regions that may affect protein function. The proteome and sequence divergence analysis revealed a substantial amount of maternal investment in embryonic nutrition and defense, and higher adaptive selective pressure on PVF protein-coding genes when compared with housekeeping genes, providing insight into the adaptations associated with the unusual reproductive strategy in these mollusks. SIGNIFICANCE: There has been great interest in studying reproduction-related proteins as such studies may not only answer fundamental questions about speciation and evolution, but also solve practical problems of animal infertility and pest outbreak. Our study has demonstrated the effectiveness of an integrated proteomic and transcriptomic approach in understanding the heavy maternal investment of proteins in the eggs of a non-model snail, and how the reproductive proteins may have evolved during the transition from laying underwater eggs to aerial eggs.

Dataset for the proteomic and transcriptomic analyses of perivitelline fluid proteins in Pomacea snail eggs.

This article describes how the proteomic and transcriptomic data were produced during a study of the reproductive proteins of Pomacea maculata, an aquatic apple snail laying colorful aerial eggs, and provides public access to the data. The data are related to a research article titled 'An integrated proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of perivitelline fluid proteins in a freshwater gastropod laying aerial eggs' (Mu et al., 2017) [1]. RNA was extracted from the albumen gland and other tissues and sequenced on an Illumina Hiseq. 2000. The assembled transcriptome was translated into protein sequences and then used for protein identification. Proteins from the perivitelline fluid of P. maculata were separated in SDS-PAGE and analyzed by LTQ-Orbitrap Elite coupled to an Easy-nLC. The translated transcriptome data are provided in this article. Proteomic data (.raw file format) are available via ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD006718.